Human Nature
by Viscaria-Flora
Summary: After having a strange dream one night, Yuma finds himself thrown into a battle royale in which he and eleven other people face against each other to fight for the title and powers of God himself, using diaries that can predict events of the future. How far can a weak, softhearted child like himself get in a game where he must kill to survive? Zexal characters, Mirai Nikki plot.
1. Foreboding Dream

I'm so sorry, this is like my first chapter story for Zexal, and the plot's not even an original one. No Mirai Nikki characters in this, just had to label this as a crossover so that people could see there's two animes mentioned in one story.

Warnings: None. This is subject to change with each new chapter.

* * *

… _nd… ead en…_

… _Dead End…_

… What the hell is going on?

Yuma found himself running. He was surrounded by nothing but a black world, void of color and life, but filled to the brim with sounds, many sounds. He could hear his footsteps, the pounding of his heart in his ears, and the many voices that reverberated in the empty space. Screams proceeded words, cries for help after sobs, and—his stomach lurched at the sound of blood spilling and splattering on the floor (even though there was none). He lifted his hands to cover his ears in hopes of at least muffling the noises, but to no avail.

_Dead End… Dead End…_

Was he running in the wrong direction? He skidded to a stop and looked around himself, looking for some sort of light in the dark.

More voices could be heard, all sounding different from each other. Yuma gazed around, jaws clenched tightly in fear.

"_There's nowhere to run!"_

"_Stay out of my way."_

"_I'm sorry…"_

They were talking to him. The words swam in his head, going into one ear and out the other. He squeezed his eyes shut, the voices eerie and unrelenting.

"_Until the next life…"_

"_I'll kill you!"_

"_There's no guaranteed victory."_

"_You can't trust anyone."_

"_What's the point?"_

Yuma falls to his knees and curls up, shaking. He could feel his blood running cold, his teeth chattering. "Please," he begged, hands gripping onto his hair, "don't hurt me…"

"_Don't think, act!"_

"_I don't want to die here…"_

"_I'll become the next God!"_

…

All was silent. The dead end chants, the screaming voices, the blood splattering, everything disappeared. All Yuma heard was his hard breathing and his beating heart. Thank God for that too. Had he been forced to listen to more, he probably would have broken down in tears. To think he would be surrounded by something so grotesque and sickening… it was a terrifying thought.

To make things worse… he felt like he heard it all before. It seemed so familiar to him, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it.

He lowered his hands and stood back up, brushing himself off as though there was dirt and gazed around. The world which was once black was now entirely white. Ground and sky were still one, but everything was a different color now, which was nice, in that Yuma could finally look down and see himself again, but it was almost no different than before. There was still no life. Nothing spine-chilling, which was good, but it was still nothing.

He continued looking around, tempted to call out anyone's name, to yell something random, just to see what would happen. As soon as he opened his mouth, though…

"Yuma."

… He closed it again and spun around, looking up. There was a figure looming before, a purplish black figure, face shrouded in light. There was something glistening in his hand, and it took him a while to realize what it was, but when he did, his face paled.

... Was that a knife?

Yuma opened his mouth to shriek, trying to back away from the silhouette, but failed. He couldn't move, couldn't make a sound, and couldn't get away. He was stuck in his place, and all he could do was clamp his eyes shut and brace for the pain.

...

"Yuma!"

Yuma's eyes snapped open at the sound of his name, crying out in surprise as he fell off his hammock and onto the floor with a loud thud. He laid there for a moment, groaning in pain and rubbing his chin, only to look up and notice Astral floating above him. "Oww… what, Astral?"

His glowing companion hovered closer to Yuma, seeming to look him over in what the boy assumed was concern. "You were talking and yelling in your sleep. What were you dreaming about?"

Yuma blinked, forcing himself to sit up. "Huh? I was talking in my sleep? What did I say?"

"You kept saying 'please don't hurt me.' What happened?"

The boy frowned, lowering his gaze. "Not much, really... I was just in a world of black, and there were all these voices saying strange things, but I couldn't see anybody, and-"

Astral folded his arms over his chest. "What did these voices say?"

"I don't know, random things!" Yuma exclaimed, leaning back to look his friend in the eye. "They kept saying stuff like 'I'll kill you,' and 'there's nowhere to run,' and 'I don't want to die here,' and more stuff like that." He could see Astral's eyes widen slightly, perhaps in slight surprise, and his heart sank in dread. "The voices sounded familiar, like I've heard them before. But I couldn't tell who was speaking."

Astral remained silent for a few seconds before replying. "Is that all?"

Yuma shook his head. "No, there was something else... One other thing..." He paused for a moment; "... The voices stopped at some point, and then when I opened my eyes, the black turned into white. I heard someone calling my name, but when I turned around, there was this dark shadowy figure standing above me with a knife, or something like that, ready to kill me. And then..." he shuddered, glancing away again, "that's when you woke me up."

Astral looked Yuma over, wondering if there was some way he could comfort the boy. He was terrified, but what could he do? Sadly, Astral wasn't the best at understanding a human's emotions and behavior, and all he could do was just continue talking, in hopes of finding a way to make Yuma smile again. "It appears to be a good thing I did. Your face is lacking in color, and your body is trembling. It would not have been wise to let you continue sleeping."

"Yeah, thanks," Yuma gave him a halfhearted smile, reaching up to massage the back of his neck. He looked outside the window, only to see the sky was still pitch black. "What time is it? The sun's not even up yet."

Astral's gaze shifted towards the sky as well. "It is still dark. Perhaps you should go back to sleep."

Yuma stood up with a yawn. "Nuh-uh. I am not going back to sleep. Not after a creepy dream like that." He walked to his bed and climbed back on it, staring blankly at the ceiling. "I don't think I can go to sleep anymore."

Astral maneuvered closer to Yuma and stayed beside him, eyes still out the window. "I see... Do you think maybe that dream was trying to tell you something?"

Yuma laughed a bit. "I sure hope not, or I'm in trouble!" He turned onto his side to grin at his friend, holding the side of his head in his hand. "People get nightmares all the time, but they're usually not true, unless it's about failing a test in school, or having to get scolded big time by your older sister."

Astral peeled his gaze away from the outside to make eye contact with Yuma. "Nightmares are the dreams similar to the one you had, yes?"

"Yeah, that's what they're called."

Astral gave him a small nod, and Yuma lied back down on his bed, stretching his arms over his head before letting them fall at his sides. His stare returned to the ceiling, too awake to go back to sleep. So, what now? Does he just stay up and wait till morning? But how long would that be? There seemed to be no sign of the sun anywhere, so does that mean it would take hours for it to rise? Great… that was the last thing he wanted. He sighed, glancing off to the side to look up at the stars out the window.

"Yuma," Astral said, catching the boy's attention again, "there is something I must ask you."

Yuma blinked and turned back to him again. "Yeah? What's up?"

Astral appeared hesitant to ask, but he responded anyway. "Did you hear anything in your dream, besides the voices saying various things?"

Yuma slightly frowned. Did he hear something else? He stopped to think for a while. Besides the crazy number of voices… what else did he hear?

_Dead end…_

"… Yeah, I heard something else," he said finally, a chill racing down his spine. He shivered and curled up a bit. "Why do you ask?"

Astral reached up to stroke his chin with his hand, appearing to be lost in thought. "While you were sleeping, I heard someone whispering something to me a number of times. It only stopped when I woke you up."

Yuma blinked. "Huh? What do you mean it stopped when you woke me up? There's no one else around here but us. What did you hear?"

"I heard someone saying 'Dead End' over and over again."

The boy could have sworn he felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach, and it was suddenly difficult to breathe and swallow. How did Astral know this? How did he know that that was what he was dreaming about? It seemed too unreal, and it made Yuma's head hurt trying to put two and two together. "Yeah. That was in my dream too."

Astral lowered his head a bit. "Just as I feared. I'm afraid there's more to your dream than we think."

"Don't say that," Yuma shook his head, turning over on his side again, except this time he was facing away from Astral. "I don't want to believe that. It's just a dream."

"We can't be too sure about that anymore, Yuma."

"What does it even mean?" The boy sighed, hand absently fiddling with his necklace. "What do they mean by dead end? What's a dead end?"

Astral turned his head to look back out the window. "I don't know. However, it looks like we'll be finding out soon enough."

He had just about enough of Astral speaking as though the dream was only a prelude as to what was to come. It was scary. The voices in his dream talking so strangely, the words 'dead end' echoing over and over again, the dark silhouette holding what he thought was a knife… he was practically praying that that was the end of it, and he would never have to see or hear of such a scary thing ever again. Yuma clamped his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, trying to sound more annoyed than scared. "Alright, thanks, now shush. I'm going back to sleep."

Astral frowned, tilting his head. "I thought you said you couldn't sleep anymore."

"Yeah, but that's your fault!" Yuma curled up even more, denying his voice slightly quivered in fear. "Please, just go away, Astral. I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Are you scared, Yuma?"

He paused. Astral didn't ask him out of mockery, or of condescension. It was of pure concern. And even though Yuma felt pathetic for answering the way he was going to, he couldn't deny it. No matter how much he wanted to just shrug the entire thing off, he wasn't able to, and the fact that Astral may be right, in that there may be more to this eerie dream than they think, terrifies him even more. He nodded a bit, voice shrinking. "… Yeah. I am."

Astral could tell by the boy's refusal to face him that he was ashamed of his insecurity, and again, he found himself despising the fact that he couldn't console his friend in his time of need. He hovered closer to Yuma's side, extending a hand out to stroke Yuma's hair. Though he wasn't able to move any strands, he could feel him, and he watched as Yuma turned over to look at Astral. He was being comforted by this gesture, he concluded, and tried to offer him his most reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Yuma. I will do all that I can to protect you."

Yuma only stared at his friend, almost unable to react. "Really? You will?"

"You put your life on the line countless times for me. It's only fair that I return the favor."

Yuma couldn't help but smile, and he lifted a hand to hold over Astral's, closing his eyes again. "Thanks, Astral."

"Now get some sleep," Astral advised. "I'll be here with you in the morning."

Yuma chuckled softly. "When are you not here? Ah well… it's good to know that I'm never alone." He yawned and curled his fingers around Astral's hand, slowly drifting off to sleep again. Hopefully this time, he wouldn't be plagued with a nightmare. "Anyway, g'night."

"Good night, Yuma."

* * *

End of chapter notes! I wanted to mention this at the beginning, but eh, it's better to rant at the end when everyone's read the chapter anyway.

I hope you don't mind when I say this [[UNPOPULAR OPINION TIIIIME~]], but the anime Mirai Nikki did a less-than-satisfactory job at executing their plot. For one thing, some of the characters had no back story/character to them at all (look at Third and Tenth for example, and some of Yukiteru's friends), and Yukiteru's development overall was... odd, to say the least. He goes from a softhearted kid to a heartless murderer in such a short time that it raises eyebrows and elicits a "huh?" out of us (well, me, at least).

The plot is a really great one, though, and I thought maybe I could do a thing or two with it using the Zexal characters. So yes, the plot is unoriginal, but it'll be far from disappointing.

Hope you all like it anyway! ^^


	2. The Start of the End

Oh GOD, was this long! Over 3k words for one chapter? What am I on? I think what I got carried away with the most was the Varian scene (I'm sorry, but it's something about a dysfunctional family setting with the seven Varian lords that makes me smile like an idiot). Anyway, yeah, I thank anyone who actually gets to reading the whole thing! I haven't been so dedicated to a story in so long, that this is really refreshing to me.

Ok, rant over. Let's do this!

Warnings: None.

* * *

**Date: January 14****th**** Time: 0:14**

"Nasch."

The king looked up at the sound of his name, watching as his sister Merag approached the throne. It was difficult to tell her emotion from her face, but the tone of her voice suggested she was concerned, perhaps even scared. Nasch frowned (if he could, what with a lack of a mouth and nose in his Varian form), and sat up straighter. "What's the matter, Merag? Is something wrong?"

Merag walked up the stairs, head lowered so her brother couldn't see her face well. Nasch waited patiently for her to reach the throne, eyes following her as she stepped over to his side. "There is… I sensed something strange from the Earth world."

Nasch folded his legs, listening to her words. "What was it?"

"I'm not sure," she said a little quietly, eyes snaking their way onto the floor. "All I know is that it's some strange force trying to pull us to Earth."

"You said 'us.' What do you mean by that?"

Merag looked up at Nasch. "Someone is calling for the seven lords. I don't know what, or why, but it wants all of us."

Nasch suppressed a growl of irritation in his throat, resting his chin in his hand. "Damn," he muttered to himself, "and there's no way of finding out what it is either without having to teleport down there. What a hassle. Perhaps it would be easier if we just send one of us seven to figure out what it is so we all don't get sucked in."

Merag giggled softly, "We should send Vector. It would be a lot more peaceful here without him causing trouble for us."

As soon as Nasch inhaled to reply, he heard footsteps from the other side of the throne room.

"Oh, I'm so hurt! What, you don't like my company or something?"

Merag blinked and looked down to see the gray-colored Varian approaching the steps, knowing that if he was human, he would be wearing a smirk that would stretch from ear to ear. "Vector…"

Vector stopped halfway up the stairs, hands on his hips. "I do my best to keep things lively around here, and this is the thanks I get? Being shunned to the human world?" He chuckled, and Merag could see Nasch's muscles begin to tense. "Not that it's a really bad thing, but I thought we were all friends here."

"I'm guessing you overheard our conversation, then," Nasch stated flatly, straightening in his seat.

"Every last word, Your Highness."

Merag leaned against the arm of the throne. "Then you know what you must do. Go down to the Earth and figure out what is trying to call out to us."

Vector sighed in exasperation, reaching up to massage the back of his neck. "How boring... You're not sending me alone, are you?"

Nasch's fingers slowly began to curl, as if wanting to close into fists. "That is the whole point. We don't want to have to send everyone down there. If it's something suspicious, it would be best if the fewest number of us would be affected."

Vector paused, staring Nasch down for a few long seconds. "Oh, so I'm the perfect person for this job? Now I'm really insulted. Why can't you send someone like Gilag or Alit down there? For one thing, they love the human world. Second, they're the weakest links! Would it matter if we lost someone as petty as them versus someone like me?"

"This isn't up for debate, Vector," the king snapped, and Vector folded his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes. "I want you to go down and see for yourself what this odd force is."

Vector leered at Nasch and Merag for a few moments before speaking again, the tone of amusement in his voice replaced with one of scorn. "And do you have any leads as to what it may be? Or are you just blindly sending me down there hoping something would turn up?"

Merag shook her head. "There isn't a way for us to find out here in Varian World. That's why we're sending you. Also," she crossed her legs and leaned further onto the throne, holding herself up with her arms, "out of all of us, you would be the most suitable for the job since you actually get things done."

Vector glanced in her direction, his arms relaxing and hands falling back onto his hips. "You have a point there, I guess. We can't rely on any of the other weaklings for stuff like that."

Nasch rolled his eyes. This guy was just so full of himself.

"What did you say about us, Vector?"

Vector spun around to see the other four Varians- Gilag, Alit, Mizael, and Durbe (with Mizael leading)- approaching him, and he turned around completely to face them, the entertained tone of voice returning. "Why hello there, everyone! Good to see you! I see you're all just dying to be a part of our lovely discussion."

"What was that about calling us weaklings?" Mizael growled, continuing up the steps while the rest had stopped behind him. "Do you not realize that all your plans you've ever thought of end up in complete failures?"

Vector's smile could practically be heard through his voice. "Aw, did I hurt someone's feelings? Poor Miza-chan." He walked down a step, watching the yellow Varian approaching him. "At least I think of these sorts of things. All you're focused on is picking fights with Kaito over which one of you has the bigger dragon."

"Bastard," the dragon tamer cursed, hands clenching tightly into fists as one of them raises to strike Vector. "I'll teach you not to talk so lowly about Kaito and the Galaxy Eyes!"

"Mizael, that's enough," Durbe called out to him, his command enough to stop Mizael just before his hand hits Vector's face. "This isn't the time for us to be arguing. Also, it's humiliating for you to be acting this way in front of the king."

Mizael slightly trembled in anger, his eyes darting up to look up at Nasch. He finally calmed down with a long sigh and relaxed his hand, letting it fall back to his side. "I'm sorry, Nasch."

Nasch chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I was almost in your position not too long ago." He glanced at Vector with a smirk. "It's difficult to put up with someone like him for very long. Doesn't it just grate your nerves?"

The prince scowled up at the king, but shrugged it off, maneuvering around Mizael. "Eh, whatever... It just goes to show how boring you guys can be."

"In any case," Nasch sighed, rubbing his temples with his hands, "what brings the rest of you here?"

Durbe stepped forward. "Nasch, we overheard you talking about some strange force calling to us from the human world, and I would like to participate in this investigation. Perhaps it could lead us to something that would help us fight against Astral and Tsukumo Yuma."

Nasch almost smiled. "Durbe: always the one to put himself on the frontlines. I'm glad to have you by my side."

"Hey, I volunteered to go too!" Alit whined, pointing to himself in what appeared to be a pout. "I'm the one who heard you guys talking and called the others over here."

The violet Varian chuckled. "Oh? So you mean to tell me that five of the seven lords are sneaky eavesdroppers? How naughty. You should be ashamed of yourselves."

Alit blinked and held his hands up defensively. "Wait wait. What I meant to say was I heard you talking, but Vector led the way, and we just followed."

Vector scoffed. "Don't try and pin the blame on me. They were talking about hauling my ass down to Earth, so of course I was going to step in. The rest of you came in on your own accord."

"We're wasting time over a pointless argument," Mizael spoke up, folding his arms over his chest.

Gilag nodded. "I could be heading down to Earth to watch some TV right now. If you guys don't need me, then I'm going to do just that."

"See?!" Vector pointed to Gilag and whined almost like a child. "He's going over there! Why can't you send him to look for us?"

Nasch groaned, tapping his fingers on the arm of the throne. "Please Vector. I beg you… shut up."

"My my, isn't this a lovely scene? The seven of you acting like a family!"

Everyone in the throne room stopped talking and turned around to see a cloaked figure approaching them, instantly on their guards. This earned an amused chuckle from the stranger, who walked past the Varians nonchalantly and up the stairs. Nasch immediately stood up and clenched his fists, motioning Merag away from him. "Who are you?"

The cloaked man continued to walk up the steps, only stopping as he reached the top. He was slightly shorter than Nasch, and looked unarmed, despite the suspicious dark aura he gave off. "Please, I mean no harm. I'm just here to talk to you all." He raises his hands to prove that he held no weapons, a smile curling on his lips. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Phecda, and I am from the human world."

Nasch frowned. "… How can you be from Earth? The aura you give off is inhumanly."

"That's what I'm here to talk to you about," Phecda's grin widened. "This so-called force that is luring you seven down to Earth- it is a power found only in the human world. It isn't something you could find in Astral world or Varian world."

"And how do you know this?" Merag asked.

Phecda held a hand to his chest. "I am their messenger, I suppose you can say. I share a bit of their power and use it for my own purposes, like traveling freely among worlds and doing whatever I want."

Vector tilted his head. "Power? What sort of power?"

The cloaked man turned to look down on the prince. "The humans worship various forms of a deity, but deities they are nonetheless. They believe this god is the source of all life, and has the ability to do what he wants without any restrictions." He walked over to lean against the throne, earning a disgusted look from Nasch. "In any case, I've personally met and befriended this god. His power is fading, and he is growing weak. He is about to relinquish his position as a god and pass on his power to someone worthy of the title, and you seven are qualified to house this power for yourselves."

Alit scratched the back of his neck. "This sounds like a whole lot to take in. My head is starting to hurt."

"Bottom line is, the seven of you can become the godly figure for the humans and do whatever you want."

Mizael narrowed his eyes. "And how do you expect us to believe you?"

Phecda shrugged. "You don't have to. But think of it this way. With a god's might in your hands, you can reshape the universe to how you see fit. If this falls into the hands of the Messenger from Astral world, then you can kiss Varian world goodbye." He watched in momentary silence as the Varians around him exchanged looks. "However, if you do choose to become god, then you can save Varian world."

Durbe, who had been listening patiently throughout the whole speech, nodded slowly. "If it's for Varian world, then we mustn't run from this. If you don't mind, Nasch, I suggest instead of just sending Vector, all seven of us should teleport down to Earth to investigate this deity."

Nasch sighed, walking back over to sit on the throne. "I agree; as shady as this whole thing sounds, it would be unwise for us to simply ignore it." He glared at Phecda, who was admiring his nails. "We can trust you with this, right?"

"Of course," he hummed. "You have my word."

"Then it's settled," Merag walked over to the stairs, beginning to step down. "We'll all head down to Earth. If this god is indeed giving up his authority, we must avoid his power falling into Astral's hands by all costs."

Mizael ran his fingers through his hair. "I still think this whole thing is a scam to get us to leave Varian world unprotected."

"Either way," Nasch stood up again, nudging Phecda away from the throne, "we're heading down there now. You're coming with us, do you understand?"

Phecda moved away from where he leaned against the chair, smirking. "Of course I am. I want to see my old friend again." He watched as the seven Varians dissolved into tiny lights and disappeared behind open portals behind them, chuckling softly and walking over to sit on the throne. "… I just led you all to your doom." He rested his chin in his hands, eyes glued to the floor. "I'm sorry, but I was too late to save you. I couldn't stop Yuma from having that dream…"

* * *

Yuma is lost in another dream, but this time, there's no blood, no crazy voices, no echoes or chants of "Dead End," and certainly no dark shadow holding a knife in his hand willing to kill him. He found himself standing upon a strange platform where ground and sky were one, and he gazed around to see his surroundings. There were silhouettes of people, eleven more to be exact, standing on platforms similar to his. He turned to his left and right to see two at his sides, swallowing nervously. Who were these people? The lack of form and faces on these shadows sent shivers down his spine, and he looked up to the sky to take his mind off of them.

"Greetings to you all. It appears you all have finally made it."

Yuma blinked and stared at an enormous floating… creature, hovering over him and the silhouettes. It took all that he had not to shriek in surprise, but his mouth dropped, and he took a few steps back. "What in the…?"

The creature looked down on him with a lowly chuckle. "Calm down, First. There is no need to panic at the mere sight of me."

_First?_ Yuma exhaled slowly, shaking his head. His name wasn't First. He wasn't able to reply though, and just nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"My name is Orion," the odd figure introduced himself, looking over all the shadows below him. "I am the God of this world."

"And hello to you all!" Phecda appeared beside him, waving to the silhouettes. "My name is Phecda, and I'm a good friend of Orion's, here. We're going to be playing a game to decide which one of you is worthy enough to become the god of this world."

A figure two platforms from Yuma's right spoke up, sounding mildly annoyed. "You never said this was going to be a game. What is the meaning of this, Phecda?"

Phecda laughed, lifting his hands up innocently. "Relax, Eleventh. I haven't got to explaining anything yet! I'll let Orion tell you his story."

Yuma bit his lower lip. This dream was certainly weird, almost as scary as the first nightmare he had that same night, though in its own way. He looked at the shadows beside him to see if he could distinguish any features he could recognize. Nothing. They all looked the same. Even their voices were altered so he couldn't figure out who was who. For some reason, he found it frustrating.

Orion interrupted Yuma's thoughts as he spoke. "I am the god figure that the humans worship. I have indeed created all life and the three worlds you all live in. Despite having all this power, I have decided to pass on my crown as god to one of you twelve, and we will host a game to decide who is best fit."

_A game?_ That sounded interesting. The figure to Yuma's left responded, lifting his hand up. "What kind of game is this?"

"A survival-based game," Orion answered, holding his large hand in the air and summoning a strange orb of light with a glowing crimson red color. "Each of you will be given a diary with recorded events up to 180 days in the future. Using this, you can predict your next moves and other players' actions well in advance. Your goal is to be the last man standing."

Yuma could have sworn he felt his heart stop beating for a few long seconds. What? Did he hear correctly? He had to kill the other people around him?

"And why should we participate in this game?" someone from behind Orion asked, arms apparently folded. "Maybe we don't want your stupid god powers."

Phecda grinned, summoning a lollipop in his hand and waving it around before popping it into his mouth. "Oh please, who wouldn't want to be the most powerful thing in the universe? I mean, really? You're just going to waste this opportunity just because you're too afraid to off a few people?"

The figure to Yuma's right spoke up next. "But what if we don't want to kill our friends?"

"Do you really think these people are your friends?" Phecda asked, tilting his head in mock innocent confusion. "I mean, everyone has an incentive to play and kill everyone else around him, be it restoring their old lives, saving their worlds, getting all the wealth and riches, you name it. You shouldn't trust anyone. Heck, you don't even know these people!"

Yuma bit his lower lip in dread, and he was sure everyone else was feeling the same as him. He was definitely scared now. What was he going to tell Astral when he was sent back to the world of the living? That he was going to be fighting for his life against people for a god's status? It just seemed all too surreal.

"Now, let's explain how the diaries work." The orb in Orion's hand faded away and became a cell phone, which hovered high enough for all to see. "Your diaries are simple entries in the form of texts which describe your every action. Destroy the diary, and you kill a player. So make sure yours doesn't get broken." The phone disappeared and the deity lowered his hand. "When you are about to get killed, a Dead End flag will be triggered. If you are unable to avoid it and rewrite your future, then it marks the end of the game for you, and ultimately, the end of your life."

Phecda ate his candy in one bite and stood up. "Sounds simple, right? Kill before you're killed, protect your diary, and be the last one standing. You guys ready to play?"

Yuma finally fought back his urge to keep his tongue bitten and responded with a shaky voice, "When does this game start?"

Orion looked down on him. "The moment you wake up from this dream. Expect to see entries as soon as the sun rises." He sat back in his throne, waving them off. "I wish you all the best of luck."

"Bye bye now!" Phecda waved to them as well, watching as the shadows began to disappear one by one. "I can't wait to see how this turns out."

…

"Yuma?"

Astral watched as the boy rose from the hammock, looking over out the window in absolute silence. It was uncharacteristic of him, and unnerving, to say the least. He found himself wanting to say something to bring Yuma to his senses, but couldn't find the right words, and kept his mouth shut, waiting to see if he would do something first. Instead, Yuma reached over to pick up his Duel Gazer, looking it over. Astral hovered closer to him to look over his shoulder, and what appeared on the screen puzzled him:

1/14 6:30

Astral is concerned about my silence. I bring up the topic of the dream I had and the nightmare.

1/14 6:33

Akari and Grandma made me breakfast today. I'm not hungry, but I try to eat it anyway.

1/14 6:40

Shingetsu is waiting for me outside. He doesn't seem to know anything about this game. We walk to school together taking his shortcuts.

"Yuma, what is the meaning of this?" Astral asked after a while, eyes trailing back to the boy. "I don't understand."

Yuma set his Duel Gazer down and sighed softly, head slightly lowered. He wanted to believe this was all false. He didn't want to believe any of this was true, but he had no choice. It was just too insane. He wanted to curl up and go back to sleep and wake up again to see all of it was just his wild imagination. He shook his head and finally gazed up at Astral. "You were right, Astral. There was more to my nightmare than we thought."

Astral frowned at the listlessness of his friend. "What do you mean?"

"… I'm going to die, Astral."


End file.
